Month: February 2009

Even sports isn’t recession-proof. NASCAR has made a lot of adjustments to its routine in the last year, and recently the NFL announced job layoffs and one big pay cut. But in a small town in North Carolina, one basketball star’s presence has bolstered the economy of every city he’s stopped at it. And that… Read More

Brian Buscher had two hits – including a two-run homer – in the Minnesota Twins’ spring training victory against Cincinnati on Thursday. Buscher, who had two more hits in Wednesday’s preseason opener against Boston, likely will lose a lot of his regular-season at-bats to newly signed third baseman Joe Crede. But Buscher, a third baseman… Read More

For those Minnesota Twins prospects in camp who don’t make the major league club, they might appear on national TV more than the big leaguers themselves. Jim Mandelaro of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle writes that a 13-episode series on the Triple-A affiliate of the Twins will be taped this season and broadcast in 2010.… Read More

Let’s put a new twist on the Mount Rushmore of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Who would be on your Mount Rushmore of players that have torn down the Wolves franchise? This exercise is simple and limited to players only (a certain executive-turned-coach would be too prevalent on everyone’s lists). The Wolves have had a lot of… Read More

This link from ESPN.com’s Scoop Jackson comes courtesy of former Forum colleague Todd Deutsch. ESPN.com recently had readers vote on a Mount Rushmore of Sports for each state. Jackson responds in the top link with his Mount Rushmore for each NBA team. As you go through the alphabetized list of NBA teams, you notice when you get to the… Read More

Only one of the two deals I mentioned in an earlier blog post done, agreeing to terms with third baseman Joe Crede. With only $2.5 million guaranteed to Crede, there’s not much to dislike about this deal. Here’s a breakdown: Glass half-full: The Twins bolstered their defensive unit by adding an All-Star third baseman from a… Read More

If you didn’t see it in Saturday’s Forum, the Associated Press had a story that the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers might have the most interest in acquiring Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick. Vick is still under contract with the Falcons. He’s missed the last two seasons after being jailed for dog-fighting charges. Off-the-field… Read More

It looks like Minnesota Twins GM Bill Smith opted to go with the John Elway 2-minute offense approach to this offseason. After doing very little for most of the offseason, the Twins agreed to terms with third baseman Joe Crede and have made a sign-and-trade proposal to the Arizona Diamondbacks for free-agent reliever Juan Cruz. Crede… Read More

Well, it took five hours of staring inattentively at a computer screen, but I managed to snag tickets for the Cubs-Twins series in June at Wrigley Field. This was my first experience trying to get highly sought-after seats for a baseball game the day that tickets go on sale. I went to Fenway with one… Read More

The trade deadline is all about buyers and sellers. The buyers are acquiring established talent. The sellers are acquiring prospects to build around in the future. Not in the NBA. And it’s amusing. I turned on ESPN shortly after the NBA trade deadline passed Thursday, and the network pundits were debating the deals that did… Read More